As the electric minicab makes its way to the railway station, its driver turns to me and, in the spirit of polite conversation, asks what brought me to the University of Cambridge today. As we thread past the famous skyline of King’s College, I reply that I’ve been for a meeting with a distinguished scientist, the Master of Churchill College. “Has he invented any cool stuff?” the cabbie enquires, and I reply that the master is a woman, and yes, Dame Athene Donald is one of the ‘coolest’ British physicists of the 20th century and beyond.

Although seemingly innocuous, this exchange highlights what Professor Donald calls the ‘bias’ in attitudes that surround women in the STEM fields. The well-intentioned minicab driver, who was genuinely interested in the science and technology that went into his smartphone and the power management system of his EV, simply assumed that the phrase ‘distinguished scientist’ referred to a man. It’s a reaction to an entrenched...